Sybill's Sorting
by Teityan1
Summary: Sybill Trelawney goes under the Sorting Hat... and strange things happen.


Sybill Trelawney had never been so nervous before in her life. In fact, it would be fair to say that she had rarely been nervous at all. She was in the enviable position of being the only child of a pureblood family, one with enough money to transfigure, as if by magic, any oddities of behavior into something more socially acceptable. Poor people were strange. Trelawneys were eccentric. Add to that enough cousins to carry on the family name, and no one would ever have great expectations of Sybill. She was free to disappear into her own little dream world, where all the pretty creatures of the world looked to her for guidance – the ugly ones could fend for themselves – and the glasses that she had needed for as long as she could remember were the sign of true royalty.

Her life was about to change, and not for the better as far as she was concerned. The ride on the Hogwarts Express had introduced her to a whole new world, one in which her dreamy, romantic approach would not fly. Her attempts at conversation with her so-called peers had already earned her a nickname: Soppy Sybby, or just Soppy. She had no clue how to respond to teasing, so it drove her to miserable silence. At least she had managed to contain her tears until she reached the safety of the lavatory. Afterwards, applying plenty of cold water to her eyes had reduced their redness enough for the lenses of her glasses to conceal what remained.

Now the girl stood in the Great Hall, trembling inside her brand-new robes, at the very end of the line that crept so terribly slowly toward the Sorting Hat, and then away after it announced each student's House. Why couldn't she have had a name that started with A? Then this latest ordeal would be over. Or at the very least, why couldn't one of the Weasleys or the Yaxleys have been starting at Hogwarts this year? Someone behind her in the line would have shifted the room's attention away from her. As it was, she was the one who would be keeping them from their dinner, and that was not the way she wanted to be introduced to the student body.

At long last Sybill's turn came. As she crept up to the Hat, someone called out, "Get a move on, Soppy!" She picked the hat up by the brim, noting that it was grubby and shabby beyond anything that her parents would have allowed into their home. If the Wizarding world was going to rely on a garment to decide the fate of their children, at least they could give the poor thing a good cleaning! Hoping that she would not end up with lice, she set the hat down on her abundant wavy hair. It knocked her glasses off one ear. As she reached up to restore the frame to its proper place, the room around her wavered and blurred as with heat haze, and then faded away entirely.

When her vision returned, the sight that greeted her almost made her pass out where she sat. Every eye in the room was on her, and not a single person was speaking. The silence was absolute. What had just happened?

"A very good question, my girl," said the Hat. Wait – the Hat… talked? Beyond just announcing Houses? "The evidence suggests that I do." Its tone was dry and ironic. "But we were talking about you. Do you often make pronouncements like that?"

"Like w-what?" the girl stammered. "I thought I just swooned. Did I say something?" One of her favorite romantic words suddenly made more sense than it had when she read it. The reality of it was not nearly as much fun as it had seemed in stories.

It took her a moment to recognize the next sound as a chuckle. "Indeed you did." The Hat cleared its throat, though it did not visibly have one, and spoke in a voice that both was and was not hers, being deeper and harsher and generally more adult. "'A quartet of heroes, a quadrangle of beasts, through vicious torment with wands and claws, will turn snake to skull and sever the flower.'" In its own voice it continued, "Does that make any sense to you? It doesn't to me."

A quartet… what? Sybill shook her head vigorously, almost toppling the Hat from its perch. She could hear student voices starting to resume their conversations. Would her time in the spotlight never end? The other Sortings could not have taken this long, or they would not yet have passed the Ms.

The Hat sighed. "All right, then. But be sure to see your Head of House or your Divination professor, and soon. That sounded like a prophecy, and prophecies never happen without good reason. You'll need a House with people who have an interest in knowledge for its own sake, and a willingness to help with research, so I'm going to put you in… RAVENCLAW!"

A cheer went up from all four tables. Sybill suspected that it had less to do with her than with the fact that now they would be able to eat. She set the Hat back on its stool and dashed to join her new Housemates before anyone could make any more unkind remarks. An older boy with messy brown hair and bright blue eyes nudged his neighbor with a rough shoulder and slid over to make room for her at the end of one of the benches.

She sat tentatively, hoping that not sticking with the others of her year was not a breach of some unspoken protocol that would come back to bite her later. Then she jumped and eeped, startled at the appearance of serving platters full of food. Meals at her home were served with human hands. This new approach would take some getting used to.

The boy beside her laughed, but not unkindly. "I had the same reaction my first time. At home we all help with the serving and the washing up." He held out his right hand. "Jasper Edwards, fourth year. Welcome to Ravenclaw."

Sybill took and shook the offered hand as if it might break. "Thanks. Sybill Trelawney," she said unnecessarily.

"Here, have some roast beef. It's awfully good." He pulled the platter close enough for her to reach. "What was that all about up there?" His head tilted to indicate where the Sorting Hat had been. "A quartet of beasts?"

"A quartet of heroes. A quadrangle of beasts," she corrected, spearing a slice of meat and moving it onto her plate. "I've no idea. I've never done anything like that before." She felt heat rise to her cheeks.

"Maybe you will again. That would be awesome!" Jasper seemed genuine in his enthusiasm.

"Maybe," Sybill mumbled, and took a bite of meat to avoid the need for further speech. She had no idea why the strange but familiar voice had chosen to speak through her, but if that was what it took to gain her a positive response from her new Housemates, and perhaps from others at Hogwarts, she would put her best efforts into a repeat performance. Was divination a skill that could be encouraged and nurtured? If she was ever to be more than Soppy Sybby, she would have to work as hard as she could on her new gift.

She grinned around a slurp of pumpkin juice. Was it possible that she had just discovered her place in the Wizarding world? How exciting the next seven years promised to be!


End file.
